FRENCH police are being sued by the families of two alleged terrorists gunned down in Paris, it emerged yesterday.

The families say that Hasna Aitboulahcen, a 26-year-old woman, and Tarek Belgacem, a man in his 30s, were not armed when they were “murdered” in separate dramas.

Aitboulahcen died five days after the November 13 Islamic State terror attacks on Paris, in which 130 people were killed. She was in a hideout in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis when it was stormed by police commandos who poured thousands of rounds of gunfire into the apartment.

Aitboulahcen died alongside her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-Moroccan mastermind behind the Paris attacks, and Chakib Akrouh, another terrorist. But Aitboulahcen’s family believe she was innocent of any wrongdoing and should have been given the chance to give herself up.

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Fabien Ndoumou, a lawyer for her family, said: “I consider that Hasna Aitboulahcen is a victim. She was under pressure from her cousin, who threatened her family and the families of her friends.”

Aitboulahcen’s mother, sister and brother have filed a complaint against persons unknown for terrorism and murder with Paris anti-terrorist judge Christophe Teissier.

Aitboulahcen is said to have found and paid for the hideout in Saint-Denis but the family say this was under duress. However, Aitboulahcen made no secret of her support for IS on social media networks.

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Police storm the Paris hideout where Hasna Aitboulahcen died

Aware of her links with Abaaoud, who was immediately identified as the man behind the November Paris attacks, French intelligence officers put her under surveillance and tapped her phone.

Belgacem was killed on January 7 after he allegedly approached police with a meat cleaver while wearing a fake suicide bomb vest. Authorities say he was shouting the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) when he tried to attack them.

But his family said that many of these details have been fabricated by police and point to detectives refusing to release a video of the incident. Witnesses who were around the police station in the 18th arrondissement of Paris said that Belgacem was backing away from officers and did not shout anything.

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The family say Aitboulahcen found and paid for the Saint-Denis hideout under duress

Police said they found a handwritten note on Belgacem’s body in which he pledged allegiance to IS. His father Taoufik Belgacem claimed that this was planted and was probably not his son’s writing.

Mr Belgacem said his son was “normal, like all young people, a good person”. He said that a complaint of manslaughter had been lodged against the policeman who shot him dead. The father added: “Police could have fired at him without killing him.”

Belgacem had a criminal record, while Aitboulahcen had never been in serious trouble with the law. Paris police deny any wrongdoing and have indicated they will contest the complaints.

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Belgacem's father Taoufik

Police and intelligence services in France and Belgium have been severely criticised for allowing men with known links to IS the freedom to operate in and around France. A high-profile criminal inquiry in which serving police officers are placed in the dock will be a further embarrassment to authorities.

The United Nations has said the state of emergency imposed by President Hollande after the Paris attacks is imposing “excessive and disproportionate restrictions” on fundamental human rights in France.

Police can place anyone deemed to be a security risk under house arrest. They can also dissolve groups thought to be a threat to public order, carry out searches without warrants, copy data and block any websites that encourage terrorism.